Noble Kelly's Page

One of the major goals I have for Teachers Without Borders - Canada is for teachers to connect globally through information technology. For those developing areas that do have the capabilities to connect to the Internet, we will coordinate teachers working together through an online environment in an effort to bring students from across the globe closer together. With their teachers’ assistance, students can work together on issues of global importance and relevance. It is hoped that through these connections a greater knowledge and appreciation of the world and its citizens will develop. These projects will look very similar to: the Global Classroom Initiative (www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/gci) and ePals (www.epalscorp.com/). One of our members, Sharon Peters, is presently working on such a project with her students and students in New Zealand (www.learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/cil/lead/fromfield/leadpod.html). Ideally, Canadian teachers and their peers from various countries will collaborate on lessons that would allow their students to work together on topics of global importance and relevance and ultimately they will learn more about their new friends and their respective countries. For example, students in a senior social studies class in Canada would pair up with students in South Africa to work together on a project exploring the realities of affirmative action in the other’s country then would present to their respective classrooms. Another example would be students in a grade 8 science class pairing up to be lab partners to test how altitude effects the boiling point of water. One student at sea level in Vancouver another in the mountains in Quito, Ecuador. I presently involving IT teachers in Canada exploring various models to see how we can make this initiative a reality with the various levels of connectivity available in developing areas. Want to help? Would love to hear your successes or ideas on this topic so join my forum...